


Hoarder

by Copitix



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Because she's Kakuzu granddaughter the kid is going to be epic, Best grandpa Kakuzu, Gen, Kakuzu centric, Not Canon Compliant, OOC Kakuzu, POV Kakuzu, Someone has to make a story for the old man, Strong Haruno Sakura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29770905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Copitix/pseuds/Copitix
Summary: Every shinobi has a story, a reason they choose their particular paths. This is Kakuzu's story.This is me giving the bastard some other motive aside CASH MONEYYYY.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Kakuzu
Comments: 12
Kudos: 106





	Hoarder

**Hoarder**

  
  


At the beginning of the story he was a good guy, at least as good as a glorified assassin could be, but that's shinobi life for you. They gave him a suicide mission, to kill Hashirama Senju. 

Hashirama funcking Senju. 

The god of shinobi. 

Kakuzu didn't believe in something as abstract as a god, but he couldn't be blind to deny that Hashirama had some power and skill way superior to even extremely powerful ninja. Still, at that time he was young, full of stupidity, pride and blind patriotism to even stop to think that it was beyond him. 

It's pointless to explain the details of that fight, he lost, the in between wasn't important. Still not many people can say they fought the first Hokage and lived to tell the tale, that put him in the same league as Uchiha Madara.

At that time, while he was jumping through the forest, leg limping from the beating, he smirked thinking how proud his comrades would be of his feat, he might have not defeated Hashirama but he gathered information about his techniques and jutsus, the next time they will be more prepared. 

They rewarded him by beating the shit out of him up more before throwing him in a cell. He was done. 

Seizing the forbidden jutsu and escaping was more easy than he thought, what was a lot harder was surviving months of persecution without receiving proper treatment after his fight with Hashirama. He got the trick of those black tendrils rather quickly because of sheer necessity but those cannot repair exhaustion and that's how he passed out in some barn in a god forsaken village at the south of fire country. 

He didn't have any idea about how much he slept, but when he woke up his wounds were treated, he was cleaned and a wet cloth was dripping over his forehead. Then he saw a woman carrying a tray with food and some other medical equipment and that's how another story started. 

Her name was Sakuya, she had clear blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair, and the personality of a demon who ran away from hell. Not until then Kakuzu would use the adjective "ferocious" in a woman, but the way she barked orders from him to not reopen his wounds were just like that. She was alone, no family or friends around and Hidden Villages were still very uncommon for her to be from one, it was like she came out of thin air, when pressed she just said that her clan fractured and the most part were scattered in Fire County and Kiri,not close enough for her to care. 

Sakuya didn't live in that abandoned barn, she was a wandering merchant, mostly of medicinal herbs and concoctions that she made herself. It was just luck that made him appear one night before she came to the town nearby. She never asked about his past, she saw the slashed headband and just shrugged "Shinobi lives are quite messy, I'm not one to judge, they still need my medicines, no matter if a clan shinobi or a missing nin" 

He was exhausted and per her orders obliged to at least two weeks of rest. They got into an argument because of that, at the end they settled into an agreement. He would be her bodyguard as a payment for treating his wounds, that way he would repay her and her walking pace was the closest to a mandatory rest he was going to follow. It worked. 

He learned a bit about civilians while being with her, she was not fragile per se, but not as durable as a shinobi, but she had a mind as sharp as the most deadly kunai. Seeing her barter and argue about quality and prices was like a battle. She looked proud after every good purchase, her smug smile clear and cunning. 

"The war was harsh for everyone, but I learned my lessons too, I'll pinch every ryo to their max value" she stated proudly. 

Life on the road was not easy, but better than running from hunter nin, at their first stop she bought a big headscarf and a mask for him for cover "Your eyes are the most distinctive part of you, aside from that botchy suture work you did on yourself, but I doubt anyone would be as balsy to look at you in the eye and the rest is pretty much covered" 

If he were a lesser man he might have killed her for talking at him that way, but killing civilians was below him. Only worthless tugs messed with weaker opponents, so he settled for batting the back of her head with mild force. 

Three days left before they were supposed to part ways and they were attacked by hunter nin from his old village, she got caught in the battle with some minor injury in her leg. He dealt with them quickly, she managed to patch herself but was clearly weak from the blood loss and decided to stick with her. A favor for another. 

That patron of coincidences kept repeating until he decided to stick with her for good, she was bearable. Maybe more than bearable, perhaps even a nice company, she wasn’t a wapid airhead with pointless chatter, she had a nice head on those scrawny shoulders and hoarded knowledge in it. 

Most ninjas worked with partners, and while she was mostly helpless in a fight she had a lot of knowledge in other areas. She knew how to banter and made the most of the meager peny they could both make, she taught him a lot of different countries she traveled and foraging for food and useful herbs. He was not ashamed to admit that they were a team. 

Weeks turned into months and months into years, before he realized he spent 3 years with her. Somehow he never left, they keep avoiding the hunter nin and each on their own business. She with her herbs, and he sold his defeated pursuers to the best prices in the bounty hunter market and some other bodyguard job here and there. But he wasn't all that powerful yet. 

During those years one of his hunters got cautious and instead of running straight up to him they decided to observe. That's when they discovered Sakuya. They barely came out of that one alive. The hunter nin got her by the neck, a kunai ready to slash her jugular while hid fully behind her. The sneaky son of a bitch. 

There was no chance to attack without hurting her, but that damn smart woman knew it too. She pointed to her chest, eyes with fear but with absolute trust in him and nodded. She made her decision and so did him. 

A black tendril shot from his arm straight into her chest at the same time it impaled the ninja head to the other side of the room. She didn't scream, that damn brave woman, but the pain was clearly written in her eyes full of tears. 

Kakuzu didn't know what possessed him, but before he knew it he was elbows deep in her chest cavity replacing her busted heart with the one of the killed ninja behind her.

That was the longest night in his life. 

Sakuya breathed heavily, was far too pale and whimpered every now and then from the pain, even when unconscious, but she was still alive with him. 

He rummaged through her packs searching for every bit of information about how to heal her. He didn't know she kept so many diaries about her medicines, but he couldn't be more grateful for it at that moment. 

A healthy sum of money guaranteed that the innkeeper didn't ask many questions about the corpse, another one to ensure his silence and one last to pay full service for two months while she recovered. After all chakra did not rule the world, money did, a lesson he learned with her.

On the third day she woke up, eyes clouded by a light fever but a steady and powerful beat in her chest. She jumped at him as soon as she saw him by her side and seized his lips in the most desperate and loving way. 

He melted into it. He hadn't noticed how tense he was, he was shaking as he held her in his arms, making sure she was okay and still with him. No amount of money could compare of what he would lost if she were gone. 

After that encounter her body was permanently frail, her working capacity abysmally cut from her. So they settled down. Putting a name for what they were was too much for him, they were partners, no more and no less. His one and only partner. 

He could almost laugh, of all things he imagined for his life, setting down in a quiet town at the south of Fire Country was the most bizarre. But it was also the most cheap and logical as Sakuya liked to remind him. He just settled for a light amused grunt as she gushed over the house she chose. 

"It's not too populated so the price of the house won't be that expensive, and since it's kinda isolated there's little chance any other ninja will find you here. Plus Fire has a nice weather most of the year, Mist is to humid, Wind to harsh and dry and Earth and Cloud not only to far away but also not fertile enough to most crops, so food must be expensive and I cannot work like before"

They bickered in a good mood. She was cranky because she could no longer travel long distances but she already got a plan for that. She had plenty of medical seeds she could grow and sell near their home. When he was thinking about plan B she already got X, Y and Z lined up. 

Life was good, she was safe, he was safe. But life was never that easy. 

He was still a shinobi, he could not work as a farmer or a construction worker, he unconsciously scared all civilians except for her. They talked a lot but as money started to dwindle she relented, they needed to eat, now more important than ever. 

He left her with his stomach in a knot, her little bump barely noticeable but he caressed her there still before parting. Those were one of the chapters of his story he was grateful for her to be far from him, he was a good guy only to her, to most of his prey he was a monster. No story is black and white, and who thinks that way is a fool.

He hunted gangsters, mobs and criminals, but also people who fought for peace, people who owned a debt to big the wrong person, people with a chance. His consciousness was getting darker and darker, the only glint of light the shiny coins he earned that meant a good life for Sakuya and their unborn child. Money determined the fate of his targets but also the fate of the ones he cared about.

Power and money were one and the same, but as people with power got bounties on their heads, his family would be safe with all that he made killing that people. 

He came back 10 months later, a small fortune in hand and two more hearts in his torso, half beaten and fully exhausted but with enough force to smirk at the little bundle in the crib next to their bed. The light in their eyes brighter than any treasure.

Sakuya was smiling with her knowing grin as she watched him interact with his son for the first time. Half lying by the door, her arms crossed with a proud expression.

"He got your forehead" she joked lightly " And thankfully your skin tone too, he can play all what he wants in the sun without fear of a skin burn" 

The kid laughed and babbled, he had his mother's big blue eyes, not a single spec of red in his corneas, and a small burgundy tuff peaking at the top of his head. Apparently his own dark brown muddied her strawberry locks, but it looked good on the kid. 

"Y'know? I couldn't just keep calling him baby so I was thinking of picking Kizashi for him, our little sprout, what do you think?" 

A sprout uh? He was happy, he wasn't a man of many words but he let her know how much he missed her those months, how much he realized he loved her and how grateful he was for the new life she gave him. His son, his love, his treasure. 

As a family they were the odd one in town. Few people ever saw him because he preferred to remain indoors, lest he scared other kids or Sakuya's customers. Kizashi grew everyday more strong and as a happy kid, always telling him about his small adventures in the village. More people believe him to be fatherless but Kakuzu couldn't care less about that. 

It was near 5 years later when things started to complicate. First he noticed he didn't age as he was supposed to, he was nearly 40 now, but he didn't feel any less strong as 10 years back, even some old injuries here and there became none existing. 

"I think it might be your jutsu, dear" she told him one day, she was a little hoarder of medical books now, not a single day passed with her not reading a scroll or some text about the human body, and since being with him, also about the shinobi health " I suppose that if you replace certain organs that began failing you might be able to increase your lifespan indefinitely" 

Smart, one of the things he cherished about her. He compartmentalizes the fact that their time was not the same anymore, he’ll cross that bridge when he gets there. It was just another reason to treasure their idle moments even more. 

The first shinobi war began at that time too. Their town suffered for it, the newly made Hidden Villages claimed food and resources, some even kidnapping children and young men to scarcelly train and use as cannon fodder with the little incentive of later giving them shinobi rank and some meager salary. He already heard that bullshit story. 

He had to travel once again, he kissed Sakuya and ruffled his son's hair before promising to come back with supplies and money to keep them safe. 

Neither of them knew how long they would be parted.

The war was vicious, Kakuzu was an excellent shinobi but evading the main conflict and the potential hunter nin that might reconnaisse him and making money at the same time was a more difficult task that he imagined. He lost one heart and several other body parts along his travels, every day practising his jutsu and everyday becoming more cruel in his work, in the end of the fifth year he only took mercenary work, the pay was good enough and he didn’t care anymore.

Here and there he found merchants that would travel to the town and that way he could send Sakuya and Kizashi the money and some other trinket or toy, but books mostly. His woman was a hoarder of knowledge. He sent a few letters and received even less response, but he at least knew they were safe still.

The two wars overlapped with only a brief period between them. At the end Konoha had won the fight, the third shinobi world war was finally over, but Kakuzu knew better, another one would come, sooner or later. He couldn’t help to think about Hashirama Senju at that time, he made a Village to end his war with the Uchiha, but that didn’t stop the rest of blood shedding in the world. 

He came back to their little town, there were new houses, some old ones still in place, less people altogether, 20 years had passed after all. 

The house he used to call a home had vines and moss on some walls, the grass of the front yard almost reaching to his hips. Kakuzu was about to enter when he heard something heavy falling behind him and a gasp. 

He met with dark blue eyes, burgundy hair and tan skin, but the one in front of him was not a kid anymore. Kizashi was nearly as tall as him now, he had a faint stubble on his chin and his hands were calloused from work, his hair a dark pink pinned at the pack of his head in a ponytail with 5 spikes resembling a cherry blossom. One thing was expecting to find a young man in place of his son, but another thing was actually seeing him. 

“Father...you’re back”

His big blue eyes were watery, he made half an attempt to approach him but stopped mid stepp. Kakuzu was not surprised; he was practically a extranger to him, a ghost from his past, some name who sent money from time to time. It hurt a little bit, but he could not be offended after all

“Show me where’s Sakuya, son”

Perhaps he said it more roughly than he intended, but he was tired and was apprehensive about what he’ll see. He made the math long ago, with each year pasing. If Kizashi was 25, Sakuya could not be a day younger than 65. After the attack that led them to this village in the first place, her lifespan wasn't looking as great. He still wasn't prepared for what he saw. 

It was a clean tombstone, even if the date said that she died 7 years ago. His son picked some pink marble for it and was lavishly decorated with wildflowers and one of the few pictures she had of herself. It was the only new tomb in the cemetery, alone and beautiful all the same. 

They had tea in the old house later, Kizashi fidgeting in his spot, not knowing how to meet his eyes. 

"I've met a girl, father" he managed to said a while later "She's the daughter of one of the merchants that came with your letters, the Haruno's" 

"Her name is Mebuki, we've been courting for a while now, I work for her father and set them good a deal with Konoha so my position is good enough to consider marrying her" 

Kizashi was nervous, but even with all the bitterness and cynicism in his being he could tell that the boy was in love. He had surely grown into a man all the time he was gone, he regretted the time lost, but he still was proud of the man in front of him. His partner made a good man out of their child 

"I see, a merchant clan, is a good match, son" 

Then he saw it, the apprehension, the glint of sorrow before a hard hit. 

"We've been thinking about moving to Konoha" the boy, the man gulped " The business would thrive there, and now that the war is finally over the gates are open again to civilians. We want to build a family there" 

Kakuzu closed his eyes, he understood his reasoning, his kid had a good head on his shoulders. The glint of his slashed headband mocked him from the corner of the room. 

"Father you could come with us… I know what that headband means, but Konoha is different! If you join their ranks I'm sure they'll have no problems" Kizashi pleaded with frantic hopeful eyes. 

He gave him a deep chuckle, he was also a bit naive, but that was youth for you. 

"Kizashi.." he almost never used his name so his son remained still " I'm old, almost incredible so, and I've seen a lot of things, a 'good' shinobi village is not one of them"

"Villages, like people, have interests, after almost two decades of war, even if they won, Konoha must be avid for control and power, and handing a missing nin with a forbidden ninjutsu to another village will surely help with that. That would give them leverage over the other and establish strong bonds for future use"

He could almost hear how the cogs started to move in his mind, the realization dimming the light in his eyes and casting a shadow of guilt in his features. 

"I… I didn't think of that, forgive me father" he vowed deep at the waist, his head almost touching the worn tatami. 

"There's nothing to forgive, I kept my old life and most of my shinobi career away from you and your mother, lest someone used it against you, but now that you're moving to a Hidden Village you must know this" his gaze was usually impassive but now it was hardened with memories and the sore thought of the possibility of something happening to his son, his only last link to Sakuya. 

"You must never talk about me, nobody has to know about your father, child. They'll keep an eye on you and your family until you're deemed 'safe', but if they'll ever find out who I am and how we're related…" 

There was nothing else to say to that, the implication was clear. They both remained in silence for a while, the tea sat cold and forgotten. 

"Does that mean that I'll never see you again?"

More silence stretched between them, until Kakuzu gave a long sigh. 

"I cannot send letters to Konoha, but we can see each other outside it's gates, I've kept as close as I can, but you know my job is not easy nor consistent" 

"I'll give you what I've been earning these years, after all I did it for you and your mother, take is a dote to marry that girl, that way her father will not say no" 

He saw how his son's eyes grew larger until he shed tears of happiness and showed his gratitude in several ways. The emotional fool, just like his mother. He will miss them, just as he missed them all these years. He came back to find them, just to realize that he lost them all the same. 

Father and son met at the outskirts of the village when Kizashi and his soon-to-be wife prepared to leave. She was a thin yet sturdy woman, a glint of suspicion in her eyes but she respectfully woved when she met her father in law. Bright yellow hair and aquamarine eyes. Kakuzu nodded and bid them farewell. 

He returned home and sat in long oppressive silence, thinking about the past and the future, his woman and his son, his choices and his work. Sleep did not come that day, nor several days later. 

Several months passed, Kakuzu had a nice nest of money to not need to work for several years, but he still felt bothered. Kizashi was out in Konoha, safe and sound in one of the strongest yet peaceful Hidden Villages out there, he would not have to worry as he had took out for Kiri or Kumo, but he could not help to think about the future of the shinobi world now that his son and family were in a ninja Village. Peace as they have right now was fleeting and unstable, no matter what the politicians said. 

He stared at the letter in front of him, it was a job offer, more or less. Some brats in Ame managed to kill Hanzo, that imbecile had that small Village in misery for a long long time, and now they wanted to form some kind of group to keep it all good in there ? He could scoff, but the details, overall payment (the most important part in his opinion), and what seemed to be their ultimate goal were...attractive to say the least. He was supposed to expect a visit from their leader anytime soon, to negotiate and to explain further what this project was about. 

Pein was not something that Kakuzu would expect, not in his nearly 80 years of shinobi work he met such power. A shiver went down his spine, even if he would never admit it out loud, and he had a brief flashback of Hashirama when the orange haired man explained Akatsuki for him. Peace, true lasting peace was a fool's dream, but the Senju brought peace to his and the Uchiha clan, creating Konoha, what could this kid with the powers of a God could make then?

He knew what kind of peace Pein was going for, it was still bullshit to control people, but with his power he could do it. He could actually guarantee something similar to it, even if it was through fear. 

"I'll be waiting for your answer, Kakuzu-san, Ame has his doors open for you" 

It was mid April when some unnerving news came to him. Konoha was almost in shambles, the Kyubi had escaped the past October, the oldest clan in the village was currently under heavy scrutiny and almost persecution. The third Hokage kept it in tight wraps, now that the Yellow Flash was dead, their enemies couldn't know about their weakness just yet.It was only through his ties in the black market and eyes and ears on every nation that he got that information. 

He couldn't remember the last time he ran that fast. He skewered the nerves of his legs to keep running until his feet started to bleed, passing under the nose of some rookie guard was almost child's play for him at that point. In the middle of the night Konoha looked ghostly, with skeletons of buildings and half destroyed businesses, Kakuzu was frantic, wouldn't dare to think of the worst, he couldn't help but think about it. He caught the faint chakra signature of Kizashi in the civilian district and he could finally breathe again, he still didn't waste time almost blowing the door from his hinges to see if everything was fine. 

His son opened the door in a hurry, a robe hastily thrown over his pajamas, his eyes a bit sunken and with clear lack of sleep but overall fine. Startled but not paralized he hurried him inside, making sure that nobody followed him home. 

"I came as soon as I knew about the Kyubi incident, I…" it was the first time in a long time that the missing nin lost his words. He had not thought this, he was out of breath, he had run almost 3 days at full speed, to see if he was alive but not once he thought about actually speaking to him. Kizashi's eyes were wide in surprise but he understood without words what he meant and gave him a pat on the shoulder and a comforting albeit tired smile as he guided somewhere to rest. 

"It's okay, we're safe, we thought about going to the old town after that, but Mebuki couldn't handle the travel in her state" 

He was about to ask but he caught the glint of something strange in his eyes, some mischievous happy light that his mother also had. He tried to regain his bearings as Kizashi guided him to the floor above. 

"Come, Mebuki is asleep, but since you came all this way I want you to meet someone"

He took him to a small room, in the night light the pink walls seemed purple, bunnies and other stuffed animals on the floor,and a big white crib was placed in the middle, a sheer white veil around it to protect their inhabitant from the bugs. 

The two of them came close to see the small baby inside of it. Kizashi moved his head softly with tired happiness. 

"She has trouble sleeping at night, usually stays awake until midnight, but rarely makes a fuss. You came just in time, I was trying to put her to sleep " he moved the curtains and picked up the baby and gently handed it to him " Father, this is Sakura" 

Kakuzu had never held a baby before, from Kizashi's point of view it looked like he just handed him a bomb, but his father was a ninja, there was no way that Sakura wouldn't be safe in his arms. The old man moved to a rocking chair nearby almost on automatic. 

"When?" 

"She was born in late March, a bit early for what we expected but Mebuki suffered from a lot of stress from the incident, our first house was almost completely destroyed, we both were out of the village for business at that time thanks kami, but if it wasn't for your previous gift Father we wouldn't had been able to afford a good house to raise our daughter "

Kizashi knew his father was listening, even if he only grunted in acknowledgement, his entire attention focused on Sakura who wiggled and babbled to him. 

"She… was named after mom, do you approve?" His wife loved the name, and as soon as he saw the pink baby hairs of his daughter he knew it was a perfect choice. 

Kakuzu was always stern and inflexible, even as a father he kept some distance from his own kid like they used to do in old times, but he slowly relaxed ,almost sagged while holding his granddaughter. A softness, kindness, around his eyes that he never knew he could make. 

Kizashi, just like Sakuya would've had, smiled with mirth "I must go to sleep, tomorrow I have to work early, I'll explain everything to Mebuki in the morning, could you take care of her until she's asleep? You're welcome to stay as much as you'd like father, there's a guest room next door, I'll see you in the morning"

Kakuzu stared at the baby, she too was transfixed at the stranger before her, but didn't mind that much and began to get herself comfortable in his arms. She was so small, and overwhelmingly pink, pink chubby cheeks, a pink fuzzy overall, pink skin and even the small wisps of baby hairs were pink. 

"Sakura, my granddaughter, I must admit… I didn't expected you" he felt like the world went still while holding her, he never got to hold his own son like this, she was soft and warm, her little head focused on the five beatings in his chest, Kakuzu made the effort of synchronize all the beatings, like a steady drum rumbling in his torso, it didn't took long for her to fall asleep like that. Her small head nuzzling his warmth. 

The morning came, he spent the whole night looking at the small bundle, almost without blinking with a sole idea in his mind. He got to protect this, this moment, this child. 

Sakura was not like Kizashi and Mebuki, she was born in Konoha, if another war started the civilians would be "encouraged" to step into the ranks, his mind flashed to that insidious bastard of the elder council, Shimura Danzo, his name was a feared as Orochimaru in the underworld. He wouldn't think below him to kidnap kids to force them into cannon fodder, if the rumors about that ROOT thing were true. He gripped Sakura more tightly against him, shielding her from view. He was only able to protect Kizashi because he grew outside a Hidden Village. He needed to plan for Sakura. He still had family to keep safe. 

He stayed a couple of weeks in Konoha, a strong genjutsu cloaking him. He studied the field, the Uchiha we're falling out of grace, the discomfort was evident, the politics were held by paperclips now that Namikaze died last October. Sarutobi was merely a shadow of his old self, he couldn't stand a big turmoil if it were to happen. The council and that Danzo bastard were oddly silent, and as a ninja silence meant plotting. 

He left them with a moderate sum of money, his granddaughter wouldn't need if anything as long as he lived, and the promise that they'll leave Sakura with him if they travel out of Konoha. He explained his reasoning with both Kizashi and Mebuki, and while concerned they didn't fight him, as they knew he was right. He left a small plush toy sewn with his own treads inside her crib, a brown indistinguishable animal that she now holds every minute of the day, if anything were to happen to her he would know. 

Now he had a trip to make to Amegakure. 

——————————————————————-

  
  


It was his last mission for the month, 5 bounties collected and more money to fill the arcs of the Hidden Rain Village and Akatsuki, the country was still a shithole, but at least people were getting food and criminality was dropping at an impressive rate. Pain must be happy, his little dream of "peace" was starting to get shape. 

He joined Akatsuki 8 years ago, the promise of a world without war enough to even a cynic like him, but for the most part, Kakuzu knew his days were numbered more or less. He wasn't like that fucking nutjob of Orochimaru, who joined not that long ago, and sought actively to live forever, being alive was a insufferable expensive pain in the ass, he knew his time was borrowed(more like ripped violently from others) and if he was still alive was just to guarantee Kizashi and Sakura's future. 

"I'll be taking my leave Konan, I'll return in September, you know how to contact me if anything comes up" he said with a grunt, he had his bag ready and changed the usual Akatsuki robe for a more inconspicuous plain cloak, the ring stayed in his hand but due to his massive height it looked small enough to be unnoticed. 

When he joined he made a deal with the orange haired brat, 3 months a year he get to be alone, no missions, no idiotic partners to test his patience, no nothing. If a jinchuuriki were to be extracted then he gets an  _ extremely _ good compensation for it, in coin , obviously. 

The blue haired woman just nodded and left in a flurry of paper cranes. He wasn't alone yet. He walked 4 days into Kumo, then two more between Iwa, Suna and the old Uzushiogakure, enough to feel he didn't get tracked somehow. Just then he set course to Fire Country, his old home with Sakuya, he had a granddaughter to see. 

It had become a tradition, while Kizashi and Mebuki were in their most long and important travel for their business, they left Sakura to his care. He who spent years without stepping foot on that old Kami forsaken town, now was there every year without fail. 

That year he just came in time to catch the merchant caravan arriving, Sakura was sitting in the top of the cart, moving her head aimlessly likely looking for him and seeing now that she saw him she just took running at full speed to his arms. Her bright green eyes wide. 

"Sofu!!!" she cried as she jumped straight up to hug his neck. Kakuzu allowed it with a straight face but hugged her back and kept her up in his arms "I missed you, I have to tell you all that I learned in the academy this year! Iruka-sensei says that I have a pretty good chakra control just like you told me!" 

"Sakura!! Leave your poor grandfather, don't you see he just came too? He must be tired" Mebuki hollered at them. 

While she might have been worried about her 'frail' father in law the truth was that she wasn't that happy about Sakura entering the academy, all Harunos had been merchants, but since his father was the one paying for the equipment she might need she had no room to object without looking bad. Every mention of ninjas and the like grated her nerves. 

"Let her be,darling, you know how much she wanted to see her Grandpa Kakuzu" Kizashi mended with a smile, his heart swelling seeing his father and his daughter together "She's been practicing her katas for weeks waiting to show him, and Father isn't as feeble as you might think, he still has plenty of strength to carry Sakura" 

"Damn right I have brat" the missing nin intoned with a gruff, Sakura comfortably sitting on his shoulders with a big smile "Now give me her stuff so you two can get on the road, I suppose you want to get closer to Iron before the end of the day" 

Kizashi handed him the bags and gave a court nood "Thanks again father, we feel better knowing she's in your care. Sakura sweety, please don't bother your Grandpa too much, okay?" 

"I never bother Sofu, you're just being mean daddy" she argued with puffed cheeks, stubbornly hugging her grandpa’s head, as much as she could in her current position. Her head consequently patted by the same man.

The Haruno family had a quick lunch in the old house before departing for their trip, Sakura eagerly waving at them until the caravan disappeared from sight beyond a hill. The pink child runned to her grandfather's side with a big smile on her face, as he was peacefully smoking in the engawa. 

“Sofu! Could I go to Grandma library now? I cleaned my hands and everything!” she pleaded jumping in the spot as she waved her pale little hand at him as a proof. 

Kakuzu leaned his head to the side as if pondering the answer, hiding a smirk “ I guess you did eat all the bell peppers and radish, so you deserve it. Go knock yourself out kid, but remember to clean everything after you finish"

Sakuran ran towards the library with a happy scream. He huffed a cloud of smoke in contemplative bliss. 

He had been training Sakura since she was a baby, in subtle ways of course. Telling her how to cancel a genjutsu via chakra disruption or pain, nothing serious, just biting her cheek or pinching herself would suffice for the weak things he made for her. She was born in a Village with Uchihas, knowing how to identify illusions was a must. 

Her physical training was another thing, but teaching her games and making her chase and mock fight a minor version of his mask beast was working so far. Three years ago she came proudly announcing that she beat some Ami girl for messing with her forehead, their same shared forehead, and that his lessons helped her. 

Still, what he was most proud of was Sakura's penchant for knowledge. Which was not inherited from him but from her grandmother, Sakuya. 

At first he wanted to sell all those books, he was not the scholar type and the memories from the house alone were painful enough, but his little blossom found it and took it as a personal mission to one day read all of the books in there. So of course he kept it for her. 

"Sofu! This is about the chakra natures! What nature do you have?" 

He exhaled another poof of smoke " My main is earth, but I can have access to all of them elements, a shinobi has to be well rounded" 

She eyed him curiously as her eyes swept to his back "Is it because of you 'Mr Thing' jutsu?" 

Mr Thing was Sakura's plush toy that he made to keep tabs on her inside the village. It didn't have much of a form aside a semi humanoid bestial shape, same to his Masked Beast in battle. Kizashi, Mebuki and even himself find the object to be frankly ugly, but Sakura loved it, and even constructed a small mask for it. The abominable toy was now sitting in Sakura's futon. 

"It's called Jiongu, Sakura, you know that"

"Fear of the grudge of the earth it's such an ugly name" she whined, scrunching her nose a bit for added effect"And Mr Thing is too cute" 

He could just sight. He had very little patience, but he pours every meager drip of it into raising her, his idiotic Akatsuki partners be dammed. 

Sakura knew about his forbidden jutsu, also that his grandfather was a bounty hunter, and more important than that, she knew how much of a secret it was and how important it was to maintain it from everyone else. 

Sakura was not Kizashi, his son that he willfully kept from being a ninja and from getting his hands bloodied. His pink wide eyed granddaughter was not that lucky. As he predicted officials from Konoha "encouraged" Kizashi and Mebuki to make Sakura join the academy 'So her future career in the Village would be secure', a load of bullshit to recruit cannon fodder. 

He anticipated that of course, so she was not only trained physically, but also in how the political world worked. She was a smart kid, she didn't know everything yet but she was not in the dark. She knew how the Hyuuga branded their own, how Kiri was in a bloody regime of murder, how rutless yet poverty-stricken Suna was.

In all his years it still came as a surprise when a 6 year old Sakura came one summer sputtering about the Uchiha massacre with fearful tears in her eyes. 

_ It was a particularly cold summer, clouds covered the sky, promising rain and thunder. Kizashi and his wife dropped Sakura in a hurry to get to Kiri before the storm got them too far inland and lost precious time. He got his granddaughter but she was eerily silent, almost didn't touch her food at dinner and mostly keep to herself, when normally she would be chatting about every single thing that she saw in Konoha and in the Academy.  _

_ They were both sitting silently in the engawa when a lightning stroke in a tree just in front of the house. The ray of light was enough to illuminate her crying face in the darkness.  _

_ “Sakura ?” _

_ She pretended to hold it for a moment, before launching herself into his arms with louds sobs. He had never seen her so distressed before. _

_ “Sofu! Sa-Sasuke-kun, all his family !” she was nearly choking in her own tears, a clear fear and despair in her eyes, like she was struggling to speak but needed to do it no matter what “ The Uchiha clan ! Is all gone” _

Sakura spent the rest of the night crying and explaining what she knew. That summer was hard for her, he decided that if even the Uchiha were not safe inside Konoha, his granddaughter must have every advantage he could give her. Training turned serious at that point.

_ After that night, they moved to the south part of the old town, it was barren, completely abandoned and it collided with a deep uninhabited forest. He stood with her for a while, he really was about to reveal himself to her, there was no turning back now, she must be safe no matter what.  _

_ He took off the cloak and long sleeved shirt he wore, then removed his mask and headscarf. His eyes still closed taking a deep breath, not ready to see the disgust and fear in his granddaughter. Kakuzu heard a loud gasp and was ready for the worst when he felt a heavy weight on his leg. Startled, he found Sakura hugging his knee, crying big fat tears and looking straight at him worried. _

_ “Sofu! Are you alright? Did someone hurt you ?? What happened with your arms and face? Did a meanie like Ami did this ? I’ll break her nose too !” _

He smiled for himself at the memory, then he spent a good part of that week explaining Sakura his life, his very long and turbulent life, as best as he could. There were hard moments, moments in which she remained silent and looked at him with an unreadable expression, when he talked about Sakuya she giggled like the little girl she was and when it all ended they both looked each other in the eyes. 

Green and green collided, a hard resolution he had seen before but never reflected in another. His Sakura was just as stubborn as him. 

Right now, Sakura was safe, reading the hoard of books that never seemed to end. And safe she’ll remain, even after she graduates the Academy. Then she’ll have her knowledge, her strength to protect herself, and if that's not enough then she’ll have his Jiongu, both having her own and his. And when that´s not enough...he dared to hope that Pain’s plan of eternal peace wasn't in vain.

  
  


Most people thought his story was about just hoarding money after his Village discarded him, and while money solved all his problems the only thing he actually guarded and kept it safe and close to him was his family. He hoarded something much more rare than money.

**Author's Note:**

> So you guys read all of that ? You deserve a cookie. If it was not clear, Sakura is going to be absolutely badass and it's going to inherit her grandpa signature jutsu when she's older. Like wayyyyyyy older
> 
> Also it doesn't show but she has the worst sailor mouth because of Kakuzu too.


End file.
